A threatened teen may not back down. One reason: The teenage brain appears to undergo a rewiring that can prompt this response to fear. That’s the finding of new research presented at a meeting on November 10. Its authors say their findings may help explain why criminal activity peaks during the teen years.

They reported their observations in San Diego at the Society for Neuroscience meeting. (Neuroscience deals with the structure or function of the brain and other parts of the nervous system....